Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Picked For Fourth-Place Finish
August 15, 2003 | Women's Soccer
Aug. 15, 2003
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Mid-American Conference women's soccer coaches have made their predictions for the 2003 season, and the Bowling Green State University Falcons have been picked to finish fourth. The poll, released Friday (Aug. 15), is a result of voting by the league's 13 head coaches.
The Falcons of head coach Andy Richards return 16 letterwinners, including 10 starters, from last year's 12-8-2 squad. BGSU, picked to finish ninth in last year's preseason poll, placed fourth in the final 2002 standings with a 7-4-1 MAC ledger.
The 2003 edition of the Brown and Orange will open the season on Aug. 30, heading to Hawai'i for a match against Arizona State. The following evening, the Falcons will face the host Rainbow Wahine. BGSU's home opener is set for Sept. 5 vs. Eastern Illinois, with the MAC-opening match scheduled for two days later against Eastern Michigan at Cochrane Field.
Ohio University is the favorite to claim its second regular-season MAC title in three years according to the league's head coaches. Coming off of a strong season in which the Bobcats finished third in the MAC, Ohio returns 16 letterwinners, including eight starters. Among those returnees are All-MAC Second-Team selections Crystal Reed and Christel Schiering. Schiering ranked among the MAC leaders in key offensive categories last season. The senior was fourth in points with 33 and third in goals scored with 15. The Bobcats also bring back midfielder Kendra Hornschemeier, the MAC leader in assists. On the defensive side of the field, Ohio will be strong again as it returns junior goalkeeper Michelle Meglaughlin, who tied for the league lead in shutouts last year with seven.
Ball State is picked to finish second during the regular-season, but is the favorite come tournament time. The Cardinals are coming off of a program-best 14 wins overall, including nine within conference play. Guiding Ball State will be 2002 MAC Coach of the Year Ron Rainey. Under Rainey's tutelage, the Cardinals have increased win totals each year since the program began in 1999.
The Cardinals return 15 letterwinners overall, including seven starters from last year's squad. Plenty of offensive firepower is back with the return of first-team All-MAC honoree Dee Nocero, who had 26 points. Joining Nocero is second-team All-MAC selection Kate Nadalin, who was fourth in the league in goals scored with 14 goals. Ball State also returns a second-team All-MAC performer in goalkeeper Megan Swafford. Swafford was tops in the league with a 0.68 goals against average, for goaltenders who played in at least 10 matches.
According to the MAC coaches poll, Miami is predicted to finish third. The RedHawks return 10 letterwinners from last year's regular-season championship team. This year's team looks to give Miami its fourth consecutive MAC tournament championship. In addition, last season's squad set a MAC record for most overall wins (19) and most conference wins (11). To have continued success, the RedHawks will have to replace MAC Player-of-the-Year Danielle Berkemeier, and other first team All-MAC selections Danielle Altiero, Andrea Cunningham, and Audry Wieman. Also lost is second-team All-MAC performer Shaedyn Cousino. Miami will rely heavily this season on Ashley Swinehart, a first-team All-MAC honoree in 2002, who ranked third on the team in points behind Berkemeier and Cunningham. The RedHawks also bring back goalkeeper Leigh Terry, who ranked second in the league behind BSU's Swafford, with a 0.98 GAA.
Tabbed for fourth place is Bowling Green. Last year's fourth-place showing was the Falcons' best-ever finish. Junior Kristy Coppes returns after leading the Falcons with 12 goals (including four match winners) and 26 points. Bowling Green also welcomes back 2002 MAC Freshman of the Year Samantha Meister, who was third on the team in points. A challenge facing this year's squad is replacing first-team All-MAC goalkeeper Erika Flanders, who played every minute of every match last year. Flanders tied for the league lead in shutouts last year with Ohio's Meglaughlin.
Coming in fifth place in the poll is Eastern Michigan. The Eagles bring back 16 letterwinners, including nine starters. Among those is first-team All-MAC selection Jessica Hupe, who is the top returning goal scorer in the MAC. Hupe scored 17 goals in 21 games, which was good enough to lead the league in goals per game with a 0.82 average. The senior forward is also the leading returnee in points (39). EMU looks to return to its form of 2001, when the Eagles finished second in the MAC.
Rounding out the top six is Western Michigan. The Broncos return second-team All-MAC selection Michelle Palazzolo. Palazzolo teams with sophomore goalkeeper Kate Perz to lead the Broncos in its defensive effort. Perz started 10 matches last season, and compiled a GAA of 0.88.
Due to a recent change in polling procedures implemented at the Directors of Athletics' meeting in July, the MAC announces only the top six selections.
2003 MAC PRESEASON POLL 1. Ohio 2. Ball State 3. Miami 4. Bowling Green 5. Eastern Michigan 6. Western Michigan
MAC PRESEASON POLL HISTORY Year Poll Favorite (AF) BGSU Picked... BGSU's Actual Finish 1997 Northern Illinois (1st) Tie-Fifth Eighth of 8 1998 Northern Ill. (T-1st) Ninth Sixth of 11 1999 Ohio (5th) Sixth 10th of 12 2000 Eastern Michigan (2nd) Eighth Seventh of 12 2001 Miami (3rd) Sixth 12th of 13 2002 Miami (1st) Ninth Fourth of 13 2003 Ohio Fourth -------AF - Actual finish
(Portions of this release courtesy MAC office)
